Contact device

ABSTRACT

A contact device for transmitting electrical energy from a preferably spatially fixed busbar to a tap-off bar, movable along the busbar, including: at least one connecting housing, the busbar being mechanically connected to the tap-off bar by connecting housing, at least one combi clip, the combi clip brought into engagement with part of the outer periphery of the connecting housing in a mechanically releasable manner and establishing a mechanical connection between the connecting housing and a connecting bracket.

This is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/397,293, filedJan. 3, 2017, pending, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

The present application relates to a contact device for transmittingelectrical energy from a preferably spatially fixed busbar to a tap-offbar which is movable along the busbar or likewise spatially fixed,according to the preamble of claim 1.

In particular, the busbar can be an arrangement of a plurality ofelongate electrical conductors laid in parallel with one another, which,for example, are mounted individually or together in additionalinsulation elements, for example plastics bodies. Moreover, the busbarcan be rigidly mounted in a manufacturing facility, for example on itsfloor, without the busbar moving relative to the floor during operation.

For example, the individual electrical conductors can be guided in theform of a bar, preferably also along a bar or in the form of a barguide.

In order to then supply a production robot continually, i.e. in anuninterrupted manner, with electrical energy, for example, it istherefore often necessary to install a tap-off bar between theabove-mentioned busbar and an electrically operated production robot oranother electrically operable element of this type.

For example, the tap-off bar is movable in the main direction ofextension of the busbar, preferably together with such a robot, but isin constant electrical contact with the busbar during the movement.

Alternatively, both bars can also be spatially fixed.

In other words, the tap-off bar therefore allows a reliable supply ofelectrical energy to the robot or the other electrical element,irrespective of the point at which the robot is located relative to thebusbar, provided that the tap-off bar is in reliable electrical contactwith the busbar.

In the process, however, a device is required which brings the busbarand the tap-off bar into contact with one another so as to beelectrically conductive. The contact device according to the inventionproposed in accordance with the above disclosure of the invention servesthis purpose.

To this end, the above contact device has at least one connectinghousing, the busbar being mechanically connected to the tap-off bar bythe connecting housing. Preferably, the busbar is also electricallyconductively connected to the tap-off bar by the connecting housing.

Moreover, the contact device described here comprises a combi clip, thecombi clip being brought into engagement with part of the outerperiphery of the connecting housing in a mechanically releasable mannerin order to produce a mechanical connection between the connectinghousing and a connecting bracket.

Therefore, preferably all remaining components of the contact device aremounted movably or immovably on the connecting housing. For example, theentire contact device including the connecting bracket moves togetherwith the robot in the main direction of extension of the busbar duringthe movement of such a robot.

Preferably, the combi clip is formed with an electrically insulatingmaterial, for example a plastics material. In this connection, it isfeasible for the material of the combi clip to be a multi-componentplastics material, which for example is produced by means of an“injection moulding” process. Alternatively, the combi clip can also bemade of a ceramic completely or in part. Although ceramic is relativelyexpensive to procure, ceramics do exhibit a high level of thermalinsulation.

Alternatively or additionally, parts of or the entire combi clip canalso be produced in a 3D printing process. This has incidentally provento be advantageous since in the field of contact devices fortransmitting electrical energy, a whole range of individual requirementsare placed on the combi clip, for example in respect of its size,thickness and dimensions. That is to say, the combi clip preferably alsodefines a distance between the connecting housing and the busbar in atleast one direction.

Moreover, it is feasible for the combi clip to be formed at leastpartially or entirely, in addition to the electrically insulatingmaterial referred to above, with metal or inorganic parts in themicrometer or nanometer range. That is to say, it has transpired that,inter alia, such nanoparticles also ensure a higher strength of thecombi clip. That is to say, the combi clip is preferably the onlymechanical connection between the connecting housing and the connectingbracket.

As shown below in a non-limiting manner, the following 3D printtechnologies are possible:

1. The FDM Method (Fused Deposition Modelling)

Alternative names: fused filament fabrication (FFF), fused layermodelling (FLM)

The method describes layered outputting (extrusion) of a materialthrough a hot nozzle. The consumable material is in the form of a longwire (so-called filament) on a roll and is pushed by the conveyor unitinto a print head, melted therein and outputted onto a print bed. In theprocess, the print head and/or print bed are movable in threedirections. Layers of plastics can thus be outputted in stages on top ofone another.

2. The SLS Method (Selective Laser Sintering)

Unlike the sintering method, in which materials in powder form arecombined with one another under the effect of heat, this occursselectively in the SLS method using a laser (alternatively also anelectron beam or infrared beam). Therefore, only a certain quantity ofthe powder is molten together.

For this purpose, a thin layer of powder is constantly outputted by thelayering unit onto the print bed. The laser (or other energy source) isnow precisely aligned with individual points on the powder layer inorder to form the first layer of printed data. In the process, thepowder is melted or fused and then solidifies again as a result ofslight cooling. The powder that has not been fused remains lying aroundthe sintered regions and serves as a support material. After one layerhas solidified, the print bed is lowered by a fraction of a millimeter.The layering unit now travels across the print bed and outputs the nextlayer of powder.

Subsequently, the second layer of print data is sintered by the laser(or another energy source). A three-dimensional object thus emergesgradually.

3. Three-Dimensional Printing (3DP)

The 3DP method functions very similarly to selective laser sintering,but instead of a directed energy source, a print head travels over thepowder. This releases tiny droplets of binding agent onto the underlyingpowder layers, which are thus connected to one another. Apart from this,this method is the same as the SLS method.

4. Stereolithography (SLA)

Instead of a plastics wire or print material in powder form, liquidresins, so-called photopolymers, are used in the stereolithographymethod. They are hardened in layers by UV radiation and thus producethree-dimensional objects. For this purpose, the platform is loweredgradually in the resin vat. There are also variants (so-called polyjetmethods) without an entire vat with liquid resin. For this purpose, anepoxy resin is applied out of a nozzle droplet by droplet andimmediately hardened by a UV laser.

5. Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM)

Alternative name: layer laminated manufacturing (LLM)

The method is based on neither chemical reactions nor a thermal process.In the process, a film or plate (for example, paper) is cut along thecontour with a cutting tool (for example, a knife or carbon dioxidelaser) and bonded in layers on top of one another. A layered object ofbonded films laid on top of one another is thus produced by lowering theplatform.

Moreover, the contact device described here comprises at least one powerplug housing, the power plug housing being positioned mechanically fromthe outside on the busbar and/or on the tap-off bar such that amechanical connection between the connecting housing and the busbarand/or the connecting bar is established by the power plug housing. Forexample, in addition to the mechanical connection, an electricalconnection can likewise be established between the connecting housingand the busbar and/or the connecting bar by the power plug housing.

It is feasible for the power plug housing to be designed as an elementon the end of the conductor which mechanically connects the tap-off barand its electrical conductors at one of its ends to the connectinghousing securely, but preferably releasably. For this purpose, the powerplug housing can be mechanically fixed releasably or non-releasably to amounting surface of the connecting housing. After fixing, an end of thebusbar is therefore mechanically connected via the connecting housing tothe busbar and, for example, also electrically conductively connected.The mounting surface is therefore preferably part of the outer surfaceof the connecting housing. For example, a main extension plane of themounting surface extends in parallel with the main extension directionand/or main extension plane of the busbar.

Therefore, the above-described contact device essentially has two“connecting devices”, one connecting device acting as theabove-described combi clip for connecting the connecting bracket to theconnecting housing and the other connecting device acting as theabove-described “power plug” housing for connecting the tap-off bar tothe connecting housing.

According to the invention, the above-described contact device comprisessuch a combi clip, which establishes the mechanical connection betweenthe connecting housing and the connecting bracket by clipping (=snappingopen and snapping shut) onto the part of the outer external periphery ofthe connecting housing, the combi clip and the connecting bracket beingreleasably or non-releasably mechanically connected.

In other words, a core element of the present invention, inter alia, isthat the combi clip described here, i.e. the connecting element betweenthe connecting housing and the connecting bracket described here, isproduced at least substantially by means of a snapping process of thecombi clip in regions of the connecting housing and/or of the connectingbracket provided for this purpose instead of by means of screw devicesand/or external retaining and gripping devices.

In this respect, the combi clip described here allows, for the firsttime, a particularly customised, interchangeable and quick connectionbetween the connecting housing and a connecting bracket to beestablished. Complex adjustment operations and likewise complex fixingoperations to fix the connecting bracket to the connecting housing orvice versa are omitted in the process. This therefore allows not only aparticularly simple assembly process, but also a quite considerable costsaving and a large amount of variety in the mass production of theindividual elements and their fields of application.

According to at least one embodiment, the contact device fortransmitting electrical energy from a preferably spatially fixed busbarto a tap-off bar that is movable along the busbar comprises at least oneconnecting housing, the busbar being mechanically connected to thetap-off bar by means of the connecting housing.

Moreover, the contact device described here comprises at least one combiclip, the combi clip being brought into engagement in a mechanicallyreleasable manner with a part of the outer periphery of the connectinghousing and establishing a mechanical connection between the connectinghousing and a connecting bracket.

Furthermore, the contact device described here comprises at least onepower plug housing, the power plug housing being positioned mechanicallyand from the outside on the busbar and/or onto the tap-off bar such thata mechanical connection between the connecting housing and the busbarand/or the connecting bar is established by the power plug housing.

According to the invention, the combi clip in the contact devicedescribed here is designed such that by clipping the combi clip onto thepart of the outer periphery of the connecting housing, the mechanicalconnection between the connecting housing and the connecting bracket isestablished, the combi clip being mechanically connected releasably ornon-releasably to the connecting bracket. Likewise, in the same manneras the combi clip can be clipped to the outer periphery of theconnecting housing, it can likewise also be clipped into or onto theregions provided in the connecting bracket.

According to at least one embodiment, the mechanical connection betweenthe connecting housing and the connecting bracket is only established byclipping the combi clip onto the part of the outer periphery of theconnecting housing. Preferably, the connection between the combi clipand the connecting bracket is also only established by clipping on thecombi clip.

At least one of the connections (between the combi clip and theconnecting housing on the one hand and between the combi clip and theconnecting bracket on the other hand) is therefore free of any fasteningelements that are separate from the combi clip such as screws, adhesivebolts or tension elements.

In other words, therefore, in such an embodiment, the combi clip itselfconstitutes its own retaining and fixing means.

According to at least one embodiment, the combi clip has at least oneupper side clip element on an upper side for clipping onto theconnecting housing, the upper side clip element being designed such thatupon application of compressive force towards the connection housing itis automatically positioned against the outer periphery of theconnecting housing and/or a free end of the upper side clip elementconnects to a fastening region of the connecting housing, which isprovided for said end and is explicitly assigned to said end.

For example, the upper side clip element projects, in at least onedirectional component, away from a horizontal mounting plane of thecombi clip. The mounting plane of the combi clip can be formed partiallyor entirely by one material plate, which is for example flat. Themounting plane of the clip element is, for example, parallel to themounting plane of the connecting housing on which the power plug housingis arranged.

For example, the upper side clip element is constructed on a boundary ofthe mounting surface of the combi clip. For this purpose, it isconceivable that the upper side clip element is also entirely flush atthe edge with the mounting surface of the combi clip. That is to say,this ensures that the upper side clip element therefore attaches itselfand, for example, snaps into place, from the outside onto the outersurface, preferably without the aid of additional tools solely as aresult of the application of pressure (pressure of the connectinghousing towards the combi clip).

In addition to such an upper side clip element arranged on the edge, thecombi clip described here can, however, also comprise at least one, butalso a plurality of additional upper side clip elements along itsmounting surface, which are arranged on and project away from themounting surface so as to be remote from the edge of the mountingsurface.

According to at least one embodiment, the combi clip has at least oneunderside clip element for fastening in an opening in the connectingbracket on an underside opposite the upper side, the underside clipelement being designed such that it brings itself into engagement with aboundary of the opening in the connecting bracket upon application ofcompressive force onto the combi clip towards the connecting bracket.

The connecting bracket therefore has at least one opening, into which atleast one upper side clip element of the combi clip can snap into placeon the inside. In the process, this clipping and therefore snap-inmovement of the underside clip element can be configured in the samemanner as the above-described upper side clip element, simply with thedistinction that the upper side clip element and the underside clipelement each project in different directions away from the mountingsurface of the combi clip and are arranged on different sides of themounting surface.

According to at least one embodiment, the underside clip element hooksinto the opening in the connecting bracket.

In this respect, it is conceivable that the underside clip element isfor example designed in the form of a hook, exactly like the upper sideclip element. This means that such a hook has an interlocking element atleast at the end. That is to say, it has transpired that suchinterlocking allows particularly simple and automatic interlockingwithout tools.

According to at least one embodiment, the power plug housing is at leastpartially open on one side, the power plug housing having at least onepower plug clip element on this side and the power plug clip elementbeing designed such that, upon application of compressive force towardsthe connecting housing, it is automatically positioned against the outerperiphery of the connecting element and/or a free end of the power plugclip element is connected to an additional fastening region of theconnecting housing, which is provided for said end and is explicitlyassigned to said end, at least part of the preferably spatially fixedbusbar being arranged between the connecting housing and an internalwall of the power plug housing.

In such an embodiment, it is therefore feasible for the power plughousing, for example instead of being arranged on a mounting surface ofthe connecting housing, to engage in fastening points of the connectinghousing by means of at least one power plug clip element arranged at theedge, and thus a mechanically fixed, for example electricallyconductive, connection is established between the busbar and the tap-offbar.

According to at least one embodiment, the connecting housing comprisesat least one electrically conductive sliding contact element, thissliding contact element being connected on one side to an electricalboard of the connecting housing and being electrically conductivelyconnected on the other side to the busbar via a slide contact.

Here, “electrically conductive board” describes a main board body madeof preferably electrically non-conductive material applied to thecorresponding conducting tracks by means of an application process(etching or soldering process, etc.). An electrically conductiveconnection between the busbar and the tap-off bar can therefore beestablished using these conducting tracks.

Preferably, a main extension plane of the electrically conductive boardextends perpendicularly to a main extension direction and/or mainextension plane of the busbar and/or of the tap-off bar.

According to at least one embodiment, the sliding contact elementcomprises an elongate base element, which is set up and provided toestablish sliding and electrically conductive sliding contact along andwith the busbar upon application of pressure onto the busbar, at leastone fastening element of the sliding contact element establishing anelectrically conductive connection between the electrically conductiveboard of the connecting housing and the busbar.

In particular, the sliding contact element can be designed in the formof a flexible spring. For this purpose, the sliding contact element canalso have two or more curvatures by means of which an electricallyconductive contact of the above kind is established.

According to at least one embodiment, the base element has at least onemounting portion for electrically conductive mounting on the board, themounting portion constituting the fastening element or the fasteningelement being releasably or non-releasably fastened thereto. Moreover,the base element comprises a contact portion, the contact portion beingconnected to the mounting portion so as to be electrically conductiveover at least one curved portion, the curved portion extending,preferably extending away, at an angle of less than 90° relative to themounting portion.

It is, however, also possible for the base element to comprise or havetwo or more curved portions or two or more mounting portions and/or twoor more contact portions.

By means of the curved portion referred to here and its preferably acuteangle relative to the mounting portion, it is therefore made possiblefor the base element to be installed under pressure, i.e. under springcompression, and mounted on the connecting housing and on the board suchthat mechanical and preferably electrical, permanent contact isestablished between the sliding contact element and the busbar and/orthe tap-off bar.

According to at least one embodiment, the sliding contact element isformed integrally. This can mean that the sliding contact element isformed continuously in one single element, for example from anelectrically conductive metal. The sliding contact element can thereforebe free of connecting grooves and/or connecting screws. In particular,the sliding contact element can be formed in a single production processfrom a single piece of metal.

Further advantages and embodiments will emerge from the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1A-1C are each schematic perspective views of an embodiment of thecontact device described here in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2A, 2B show an embodiment of a combi clip described here;

FIG. 3A, 3B show a further embodiment of a contact device described hereand in particular an embodiment of a power plug housing described here;

FIG. 4 show an embodiment of the sliding contact element described here.

FIG. 1A is a first schematic perspective view of a contact device 100described here and according to the invention for transmittingelectrical energy from a busbar 1, which is spatially fixed in thisembodiment, comprising electrical conductors 1A to 1D. Here, theelectrical conductors 1A to 1D are each mounted separately andelectrically insulated from one another in a plastics frame 14 providedfor this purpose, which is at least partially open towards a connectinghousing 10 of the contact device 100 in order for electrical contact tobe made here.

In this respect, the electrical conductors 1A-1D extend in alongitudinal direction L and each also run separately and parallel toone another in this longitudinal direction L.

The connecting housing 10 connects the busbar 1 mechanically andpreferably also electrically conductively to a tap-off bar 2. On thetapping side, the tap-off bar 2 in turn contains the electrical tappinglines 2A-2D that are assigned, preferably explicitly assigned, to theelectrical conductors 1A to 1D of the busbar 1, respectively.

The connecting housing 10 is connected by means of a combi clip 20 to aconnecting bracket 30 of the contact device 100. For this purpose, thecombi clip 20 is clipped on one side into an opening 31 in theconnecting bracket 30. On the opposite side, the combi clip 20 isclipped into the connecting housing 10. The combi clip 20 thereforeestablishes a particularly simple, time-saving and cost-effectivesnap-in connection (also referred to as a clip connection) between theconnecting housing 10 and the connecting bracket 30.

In this respect, in this embodiment, the connecting housing 10 ismovable together with the connecting bracket 30, preferably even thewhole contact device 100, along the busbar 1 (by means of the combi clip20). In order to make this possible, the connecting housing 10 also hasa through-opening 10A in a longitudinal direction L, through which thebusbar 1 is guided. Because the busbar 1 is constructed in a directiontowards the connecting housing 10 such that the electrical conductors1A-1D arranged therein are exposed, an electrical sliding contact cantherefore be located on the electrical conductors 1A-1D in these exposedchannels.

Moreover, the embodiment according to FIG. 1A comprises a power plughousing 40, which is arranged on a mounting surface 10B of theconnecting housing 10. Between the power plug housing 40 and theconnecting housing 10, a mechanical, for example also electricallyconductive, connection is therefore made possible between the electricaltapping lines 2A-2D guided inside the power plug housing 40 and theelectrical lines 1A-1D.

As can be seen from FIG. 1A, the power plug housing 40 shown thereinconsists of two half-shells 40A and 40B. With regard to assembly,therefore, quite simply the half-shell 40B can first be provided, in asecond step the ends of the electrical tapping lines 2A-2D can be laidinto the half-shell 40B, and therefore preferably likewise by means of asnap-in process, preferably only by means of a snap-in process, thesecond half-shell 40A can be snapped onto the first half-shell 40B suchthat the electrical tapping lines 2A to 2D are arranged and fixedbetween the two half-shells 40A, 40B. In this respect, therefore, in oneembodiment, the power plug housing 40 shown in FIG. 1A also likewiseagain uses the core concept of a snap-in process described throughoutthe entire application.

Moreover, the embodiment of the power plug housing 40 according to FIG.1A has an end plate 45, which is for example flush with the electricalconductors 2A to 2D at the end.

Alternatively, the half-shell element 40A can be joined to thehalf-shell element 40B in another manner, for example by screws orbonding.

As can likewise already be seen from FIG. 1A, the combi clip 20 has atleast one upper side clip element 22 on an upper side 21 for clippingonto the connecting housing 10, which element defines the entire combiclip 20 so as to be flush on the side in a lateral direction L and linesup therewith, and is snapped onto part of the outer surface of theconnecting housing 10 from the outside.

The connecting housing also has at least one light signal surface 65.The light signal surface comprises, for example, optical fibre elements,for example organic or inorganic LEDs. The light signal surfaces 65 canbe perceived without aids at any time by the user. If the light signalsurface 65 lights up, there is electrical contact between the busbar 1and the tap-off bar 2. Preferably, the light signal surfaces 65 areinstalled so as to be integrated into a screw dome 66 of the connectinghousing.

FIGS. 1B and 1C are two further schematic perspective views of thecontact device shown in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2A is a schematic side view of an embodiment of a combi clip 20described here.

The combi clip 20 has a mounting surface 20A. The mounting surface 20Acan therefore also be described as a bearing surface. Moreover, thecombi clip 20 has an upper side 21 and an underside 23. On the underside23, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A, two underside clip elements 24are formed in a direction CL. The underside clip elements 24 projectfrom the mounting surface 2A in a direction extending in a directionperpendicular to the main direction of extension of the mounting surface20A away from the mounting surface 2A. In the direction CL, the twounderside clip elements 24 are arranged at a distance D1 from oneanother. The distance D1 has a width such that the underside clipelements 24 interlock solely as a result of compressive force and thenautomatically and in particular without tools onto or with the boundary310 of the opening 31 in the connecting bracket 30.

However, in the opposite direction, for example, in the same manner asthe underside clip elements 24 on the underside previously describedabove, the upper side clip elements 22 project away from the mountingsurface 20A. In the process, the combi clip 20 from FIG. 2A has at leasttwo clip elements, but for example also more clip elements, which areflush with the edge of the mounting surface 20A. For example, at leastone additional upper side clip element 22 is however formed in the mainextension plane of the mounting region 20A away from the boundary of themounting surface 20A.

FIG. 2B is a schematic perspective view of the combi clip 20 shown inFIG. 2A.

FIG. 3A is a schematic perspective view of a further embodiment of thecontact device 100 described here.

As can be seen from FIG. 3A, therefore, instead of mounting the powerplug housing 40 on a mounting surface of the connecting housing 10 (asshown in FIG. 1A-1C), the power plug housing 40 is open on one side andhas power plug clip elements 41 provided for this purpose on the edge,which elements connect to and interlock with the connecting housing 10preferably automatically and without tools upon application ofcompressive force towards an electrically conductive board 16 of theconnecting housing 10.

In this respect, the connecting housing 10 has additional fasteningregions 13. These additional fastening regions 13 cannot be aconstituent part of the connecting housing 10, but rather are alreadyconstituted by the electrically conductive board 16 of the connectinghousing 10 itself.

After attaching a power plug housing 40 constructed in this manner, theelectrical conductors 1A-1D, but alternatively or additionally (and thisis not shown) also the electrical conductors 2A-2D, are thereforearranged between an internal wall of the power plug housing 40 and theelectrically conductive board 16 of the connecting housing 10.

FIG. 3B is a further schematic perspective view of the contact device100 shown in FIG. 3A.

In FIG. 4, a sliding contact element 15 is shown, as is already shown inFIG. 3B for example, but can also be seen particularly clearly in FIG.10.

The sliding contact element 15 shown in FIG. 4 therefore has an elongatebase element 150, which is set up and provided for establishing slidingcontact along and with the tap-off bar 2 upon application of pressure tothe busbar 1, at least one fastening element 151 of the sliding contactelement 15 constituting an electrically conductive connection betweenthe electrically conductive board 16 of the connecting housing 10 andthe busbar 1.

In particular, the sliding contact element 15 can also have two or morefastening elements 151, which project away from a main extension planeand/or a main extension direction of the base element 150 in apredetermined direction.

In particular, the fastening elements 151 can be designed in the form ofplug connections, since it has become clear that in particular such plugconnections can be plugged particularly easily into boards, inparticular the above-described electrically conductive boards 16 of theconnecting housing 10.

As shown in FIG. 4, the base element 150 has a mounting portion 150A anda contact portion 152 and two curved portions 153, the curved portion153, which is directly connected to the mounting portion 150A, curvingby 90° in the direction away from a main extension direction and/or mainextension plane of the mounting portion 150A, the further curved portion153, which is in direct contact with the contact portion 152, curving byless than 90° such that the contact portion 152 and the mounting portion150A are not arranged in parallel with one another in relation to theirlongitudinal directions of extension and/or main directions ofextension, but rather extend so as to be straight at an acute angletowards one another such that an application of pressure in the form ofthe above-described sliding contact is made possible as a result of thisacute angle between the contact portion 152 and the mounting portion150A.

The invention is not limited on the basis of the description and theembodiments. On the contrary, the invention comprises any novel featureand any combination of features, and this particularly also includes anycombination of the claims, even if this feature or this combination offeatures itself is not explicitly stated in the claims or theembodiments.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   1 Busbar-   1A-1D Electrical conductors-   2 Tap-off bar-   2A-2D Electrical tapping lines-   10 Connecting housing-   10A Through-opening-   10B Mounting surface-   13 Fastening regions-   14 Plastics frame-   15 Sliding contact element-   16 Electrically conductive board-   20 Combi clip-   20A Mounting surface-   21 Upper side-   22 Upper side clip elements-   23 Underside-   24 Underside clip elements-   30 Connecting bracket-   31 Opening in the connecting bracket-   40 Power plug housing-   40A, 40B Half-shells-   41 Power plug clip elements-   45 End plate-   65 Light signal surface-   66 Screw dome-   100 Contact device-   150 Base element-   150A Mounting portion-   151 Fastening element-   152 Contact portion-   153 Curved portion-   310 Boundary of the opening in the connecting bracket-   L Longitudinal direction-   CL Direction-   D1 Distance

The invention claimed is:
 1. Contact device for transmitting electricalenergy from a preferably spatially fixed busbar to a tap-off bar, whichis movable along the busbar or likewise spatially fixed, comprising: atleast one connecting housing, the busbar being mechanically connected tothe tap-off bar by means of the connecting housing, and at least onecombi clip, the combi clip being brought into engagement with part ofthe outer periphery of the connecting housing in a mechanicallyreleasable manner and establishing a mechanical connection between theconnecting housing and a connecting bracket, wherein, by clipping thecombi clip onto the part of the outer periphery of the connectinghousing, the mechanical connection is established between the connectinghousing and the connecting bracket, the combi clip being mechanicallyconnected to the connecting bracket releasably or non-releasably, andwherein the mechanical connection between the connecting housing and theconnecting bracket is only established by clipping the combi clip ontothe part of the outer periphery of the connecting housing.
 2. Contactdevice according to claim 1, wherein the combi clip has at least oneupper side clip element on an upper side for clipping onto theconnecting housing, the upper side clip element being designed such thatupon application of compressive force towards the connecting housing itis automatically positioned against the outer periphery of theconnecting housing and/or a free end of the upper side clip elementconnects to a fastening region of the connecting housing which isprovided for said end and is explicitly assigned to said end.
 3. Contactdevice according to claim 2, wherein the combi clip has at least oneunderside clip element for fastening in an opening of the connectingbracket on an underside opposite the upper side, the underside clipelement being designed such that it mechanically brings itself intoengagement with a boundary of the opening in the connecting bracket uponapplication of compressive force onto the combi clip towards theconnecting bracket.
 4. Contact device according to claim 3, wherein theunderside clip element interlocks with the opening in the connectingbracket.
 5. Contact device according to claim 4, further comprising: atleast one power plug housing, wherein the power plug housing ispositioned mechanically and from the outside on the busbar and/or on thetap-off bar such that a mechanical connection between the connectinghousing and the busbar and/or the connecting bar is established by thepower plug housing.
 6. Contact device according to claim 5, wherein thepower plug housing is at least partially open on one side, and on thisside has at least one power plug clip element, the power plug clipelement being designed such that, upon application of compressive forcetowards the connecting housing, it is automatically positioned againstthe outer periphery of the connecting element and/or a free end of thepower plug clip element is connected to an additional fastening regionof the connecting housing, which is provided for said end and isexplicitly assigned to said end, at least part of the preferablyspatially fixed busbar therefore being arranged between the connectinghousing and an internal wall of the power plug housing.
 7. Contactdevice according to claim 6, wherein the connecting housing comprises atleast one electrically conductive sliding contact element, this slidingcontact element being connected on one side to an electricallyconductive board of the connecting housing and being electricallyconductively connected on the other side to the busbar via a slidecontact.
 8. Contact device according to claim 7, wherein the slidingcontact element comprises an elongate base element, which is set up andprovided to establish sliding and electrically conductive slidingcontact along and with the busbar upon application of pressure on thebusbar, at least one fastening element of the sliding contact elementestablishing an electrically conductive connection between theelectrically conductive board of the connecting housing and the busbar.9. Contact device according to claim 8, wherein the base element has atleast one mounting portion for electrically conductive mounting on theboard, the mounting portion constituting the fastening element or thefastening element being releasably or non-releasably fastened thereto,and has a contact portion, the contact portion being electricallyconductively connected to the mounting portion by means of at least onecurved portion, and the curved portion extending at an angle of lessthan 90 degrees relative to the mounting portion.
 10. Contact deviceaccording to claim 9, wherein the sliding contact element is formedintegrally.
 11. Contact device according to claim 1, wherein the combiclip has at least one upper side clip element on an upper side forclipping onto the connecting housing, the upper side clip element beingdesigned such that upon application of compressive force towards theconnecting housing it is automatically positioned against the outerperiphery of the connecting housing and/or a free end of the upper sideclip element connects to a fastening region of the connecting housingwhich is provided for said end and is explicitly assigned to said end.12. Contact device according to claim 11, wherein the combi clip has atleast one underside clip element for fastening in an opening of theconnecting bracket on an underside opposite the upper side, theunderside clip element being designed such that it mechanically bringsitself into engagement with a boundary of the opening in the connectingbracket upon application of compressive force onto the combi cliptowards the connecting bracket.
 13. Contact device according to claim12, wherein the underside clip element interlocks with the opening inthe connecting bracket.
 14. Contact device according to claim 13,further comprising: at least one power plug housing, wherein the powerplug housing is positioned mechanically and from the outside on thebusbar and/or on the tap-off bar such that a mechanical connectionbetween the connecting housing and the busbar and/or the connecting baris established by the power plug housing.
 15. Contact device accordingto claim 14, wherein the power plug housing is at least partially openon one side, and on this side has at least one power plug clip element,the power plug clip element being designed such that, upon applicationof compressive force towards the connecting housing, it is automaticallypositioned against the outer periphery of the connecting element and/ora free end of the power plug clip element is connected to an additionalfastening region of the connecting housing, which is provided for saidend and is explicitly assigned to said end, at least part of thepreferably spatially fixed busbar therefore being arranged between theconnecting housing and an internal wall of the power plug housing. 16.Contact device according to claim 15, wherein the connecting housingcomprises at least one electrically conductive sliding contact element,this sliding contact element being connected on one side to anelectrically conductive board of the connecting housing and beingelectrically conductively connected on the other side to the busbar viaa slide contact.
 17. Contact device according to claim 16, wherein thesliding contact element comprises an elongate base element, which is setup and provided to establish sliding and electrically conductive slidingcontact along and with the busbar upon application of pressure on thebusbar, at least one fastening element of the sliding contact elementestablishing an electrically conductive connection between theelectrically conductive board of the connecting housing and the busbar.18. Contact device according to claim 17, wherein the base element hasat least one mounting portion for electrically conductive mounting onthe board, the mounting portion constituting the fastening element orthe fastening element being releasably or non-releasably fastenedthereto, and has a contact portion, the contact portion beingelectrically conductively connected to the mounting portion by means ofat least one curved portion, and the curved portion extending at anangle of less than 90 degrees relative to the mounting portion. 19.Contact device according to claim 1, wherein the combi clip has at leastone underside clip element for fastening in an opening of the connectingbracket on an underside opposite an upper side, the underside clipelement being designed such that it mechanically brings itself intoengagement with a boundary of the opening in the connecting bracket uponapplication of compressive force onto the combi clip towards theconnecting bracket.